Of Caffeine Addiction And Awkward Flirting
by reganmacneil
Summary: The story of SSA Victoria Cameron and Dr Spencer Reid, told in snapshots, detailing their developing relationship from the first awkward meeting to their eventual marriage.


Handshake Etiquette

They first met in an elevator.

In retrospect, everything might have gone completely and totally different if she'd been on time that day. She wouldn't have exclaimed desperately for him to hold the door, she would never have thanked him and they would never have had that first, ice breaking conversation that led to her subconsciously sticking closer to him when she first joined the team. There was no doubt in both their minds that they would probably never have become as close as they did had everything gone smoothly for her that day.

Victoria often thanked the company that made her faulty alarm clock for everything they'd given her.

"Wait!" The clipped, English accent sounded loud and clear through the closing metal doors of the elevator, a note of panic clear in the owner's voice."Hold the door!"

It seemed like her (plea) request was to go unanswered, and the red haired woman huffed with irritation at her alarm clock and the occupant of the elevator and just her bad luck in general. At least, until a hand shot out at the last few seconds, stopping the doors long enough for her to rush inside, body buzzing with adrenaline from her forced morning exercise. Blowing sharply through her nose, she righted herself before turning to her saviour with a bright, thankful smile.

"Thank you, you honestly have no idea how grateful I am right now," she said, hastily brushing away some stray ginger curls that had blown over her face, quietly lamenting how all of her patient work the previous night getting it straightened and looking acceptable had disappeared with one night of restless sleep.

Her saviour cleared his throat, offering a smile that she immediately recognized as decidedly strained. Without wanting to offend or make him any more uncomfortable than he clearly was already, Victoria eyed him inconspicuously as the doors slid closed once more, this time managing to go the whole way. The thing that struck her first was the way his eyes were trained on her shoulder rather than her face as he offered his awkward little smile. The second was his hand, and the way his grip tightened slightly on the strap of his bag, another clear sign that he was out of his comfort zone. Clearly, the man was rather awkward around strangers, perhaps even falling on the autistic spectrum somewhere, although admittedly it was unwise and rather rude to be making such assumptions about a guy she'd just met and knew next to nothing about.

Noting that he wasn't about to do it, she decided to break the ice.

"Victoria Cameron," she boldly offered her hand, watching as he blinked and swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing nervously up and down his slim throat. His grip tightened even further on his bag strap, and he made no immediate move to take her hand. Taking the hint, she withdrew it immediately, instead opting to let it hang casually by her side with a small, apologetic smile."Not a hand shaker, then?"

He swallowed again, that strained smile back but, unless she was mistaken, looking a little less so now. His lips parted, and Victoria nearly jumped out of her skin as his voice finally broke the awkward silence.

"Doctor Spencer Reid," he introduced himself, to her surprise, voice wavering only slightly. So slightly that somebody not trained to detect things like it wouldn't have picked it up. He lifted his free hand, waving at her once before dropping his arm back down to his side."And no, I...I don't shake hands."

"Yeah, me neither," Victoria admitted, scrunching her nose up."But I've been taught to just fight through the urge to cringe every time I have to because social convention dictates that it's polite."

She paused, pursing her lips slightly,"Social convention is stupid."

Her elevator companion chuckled for the first time, though it was faint and nearly undetectable. Victoria's lips quirked up infinitesimally at the sound, and the atmosphere seemed to become an iota less awkward.

"D-Did you know that the handshake is thought to date back to 5th century BC?" Spencer spoke up, a little hesitant, but certainly more confident now that the ice had been partially broken."It was a symbol of peace, to show that neither person was carrying a weapon."

"Interesting," Victoria mused, cocking her head thoughtfully to the side as she stared up at the LED display, counting the floors as they ascended."Did _you_ know that in Morocco people of opposite genders don't shake hands?"

"Did _you_ know that in South Korea the eldest is always the one to begin the handshake?" Spencer shot back, and she could see his grip on his bag loosening out the corner of her eye.

Victoria smiled, rising to the unspoken challenge,"Did _you_ know that people of opposite genders in Russia only shake hands if it's a business situation? A man is normally expected to kiss a woman's hand."

"Did you know that kissing is actually more hygienic than hand shaking?"

"What?" Victoria blinked, actually turning to face him as this piece of information sank in."You're kidding."

"I'm not, actually; on average there are more pathogens exchanged during a handshake than there are during a kiss," the doctor imparted, like a textbook. The English girl scrunched her nose up, subconsciously wiping her palms on her pencil skirt.

"That makes me want to shake hands even less now."

"I'm, um, sorry?" Spencer apologized tentatively, and she saw how he seemed to tense up and go back into his shell again. A nervous laugh left his lips, feet shuffling awkwardly on the floor of the elevator, something which Victoria found strangely endearing. She shook her head, smiling what she hoped was a placating smile.

"It's fine, I carry around anti-bacterial gel anyway," she shrugged lightly, reaching into her pocket to show it off."Claims to get rid of 99.9% of bacteria, so I think I'll be okay."

"Actually, it's most likely that the 0.1% that the sanitizer doesn't effect will make you the most ill," he reeled off, again sounding like he'd swallowed a textbook."Dangerous pathogens such as Norovirus have been found to be immune to antibacterial gels and..."

Spencer trailed off, cheeks reddening a little as he noticed Victoria's raised eyebrow, teeth tugging at her bottom lip as she attempted to keep her amused smile at bay. Clearing his throat, the doctor turned his attention back to the display, his face visibly relaxing as it settled on a familiar number and the doors slid open.

"Well, um, this is my floor," he blinked as the red head stepped out with him, smiling at the way his eyebrows pulled together in a way that made his young face akin to a puppy's.

"Mine too, what a coincidence," she cleared her throat, once again brushing her curls out of her face with a sigh."Well, if I don't see you again make sure you don't shake hands with a woman in Morocco, and I'll make sure not to catch Norovirus. Shake on it?"

Victoria held out her hand, pupils glinting mischievously when he eyed it with trepidation and even further confusion. She giggled to herself, retracting it with a small shake of her head.

"Sorry, I was trying to be funny," she bit her lip, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly."I guess my joke fell a bit flat."

"Joke?" She watched as the doctor connected the dots, his frown smoothing out. His mouth became an 'O' of realization, before he nodded."Oh, I get it. Um...good one?"

"You're just saying that to make me feel better," Victoria clicked her tongue, before shrugging."But I'll take it. Anyway, I've got somewhere to be and I'm sure you do as well, so I'll say goodbye now."

She waved once, before turning on her heel and walking away, feeling him staring at her for a few seconds as she increased the distance between them, before he presumably went about his business. The English woman laughed quietly to herself as she turned the corner, finally managing to tame her hair by extracting some hair clips from her bag. She wanted to look as presentable as possible for her interview.

And maybe, just maybe, for the rather attractive doctor whom she may or may not meet again.

* * *

 **Started watching Criminal Minds again and this little plot bunny started hopping around my head, so I wrote it out. Victoria is meant to have joined before the beginning of season 1, and so Spencer is far more awkward in the beginning than he will be as the snapshots progress because he was definitely more socially awkward in season 1 than he was in later seasons.**

 **Their relationship will start off as friends, but they'll start to develop feelings for one another at a reasonable pace, I promise. I will consider taking requests about what you would like to see happen as this progresses, so any suggestions should be put in a review. Just say something like 'Victoria and Spencer argue about Doctor Who' or whatever it is you want and I'll try to make something of it.**

 **Anyway, see you next time!**

 **Reganmacneil**


End file.
